Iran-US war latest: Trump says he expects to sign peace deal in ‘two or three days’ after warning Netanyahu

Donald Trump confirmed that negotiations with Iran were “still ongoing” as he departed New York for the White House last night.

The US president told reporters: “We have a good chance of doing it, we’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal.”

He added that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened as soon as they sign a ceasefire deal, which he said could be in “two to three days”.

Trump had earlier claimed that the blockade could continue until Labour Day in September.

A ​US Army Apache helicopter gunship went ⁠down near the Strait of Hormuz yesterday and ​its two ⁠crew members were safely ⁠rescued, The New ​York ⁠Times reported.

It was not immediately clear ⁠whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some ‌other problem.

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Tehran views the negotiations with the US as “part of the battle”.

“We have said many times that we accept negotiation as a continuation of the battlefield. We consider negotiation to be part of the battle,” Ebrahim Rezaei told CNN.

The spokesperson for parliament’s national security committee added that Tehran would have “no problem” negotiating once it was convinced that the US was abiding by the rules of diplomacy.

“The issue of Lebanon is very, very important to us,” he said. “We will by no means back down on the issue of the resistance front, its members, and especially Lebanon,” he added.

Iran’s U-23 national football team is reportedly withdrawing from a friendly match with Bahrain after Tehran struck US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.

The team has withdrawn from friendlies with “Bahrain and several other countries”, Tasnim news agency reported.

The team is currently holding a training camp in Turkey, it added.

All 24 Indian crew members of a Palau-flagged tanker were rescued after it was attacked by the US Navy off the coast of Oman.

US troops attacked MT Marivex, which was blacklisted and sanctioned by the US treasury department, according to reports.

On three occasions, the vessel turned away after repeated warnings by the US Navy, India’s PTI news agency reported.

The vessel made another attempt to run past the blockade by using Omani territorial waters and switched off its signal devices to go undetected, the report found.

The Indian embassy in Oman thanked the local authorities for rescuing the Indian crew members.

Vice president JD Vance has claimed the US is in a good position to secure a peace deal with Iran.

“The Iranians don’t want this war to continue. It’s not in their best interest, and I think they’re coming to the table, putting some real things on the table, we’re of course going to verify,” Vance told Fox News.

Vance claimed that recent negotiations had moved in a positive direction. “If we get to this deal, it’s going to be a home-run win for the American people,” he said.

President Donald Trump was loudly booed inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden as he watched his hometown Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the NBA Finals.

The crowd first began to boo when the president appeared on the jumbotron during the singing of the national anthem.

President Trump took in the opening ceremonies from a private box with a smirk and saluted.

Tehran’s international airport reopened after flight operations were suspended on Sunday due to Israeli missile strikes.

Local media reported that flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia were among the first to land at the reopened Imam Khomeini Airport.

Oil prices inched up in early trade after Iran and Israel left ​the door open to a possible resumption of attacks on each other, though ‌they had called a halt to hostilities following an appeal from president Donald Trump.

Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.14 per cent, to $94.38 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate was up 11 cents, ​or 0.12 per cent, at $91.41 a barrel.

Prices climbed as much as 5 per cent in the previous session after ​renewed Israeli strikes on Iran and attacks in Lebanon reduced hopes of ⁠an imminent end to the wider war, but pared gains after Iran’s armed forces announced the end ​of military operations against Israel.